Spicy Chipotle Meatballs with Habanero Hummus
Recipe development and photography by Rochelle Keet
We wanted to give one of our favorite Mediterranean meals a true African Dream Foods makeover—and this is what we came up with. Mini meatballs are seasoned with ADF Smoked Chipotle Salt and Safari Smoke Seasoning, while we added ADF Habanasco Hot Sauce to the hummus to give it a kick. The result? Smoky meatballs stuffed in a toasted pita with hummus, fresh greens, and a tangy yogurt sauce. While there are many ingredients, they are all easy to find and assembly only takes a few minutes. In fact, you can make everything while the meatballs cook in the oven, making this a super quick solution for dinner. Did we make you hungry now? Then you have to try this recipe—weeknight meals won’t be bland again!
Servings:
4-6
PREP & COOK TIME:
25 mins prep time
15 mins cook time
Calories:
356 per serving
Ground beef
1lb
Egg, beaten
1
Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup
Onion, finely chopped
1/2
Garlic cloves, minced
2
Ground coriander
1 tsp
Ground cumin
1 tsp
to taste
to taste
Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can
Garlic clove, crushed
1
Olive oil
2 tbsp
Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp (about half a lemon)
Tahini
1 tbsp
Honey
1 tsp
Greek yogurt (plain)
11/2 cup
Ground coriander
1 tsp
Ground cumin
1 tsp
Garlic clove, minced
1
Salt and Pepper
to taste
Cucumber, chopped
1 small (or 1/2 large)
Tomatoes
2
Red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1
Toasted Pitas
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Use a small ice cream scoop to measure out equal amounts of ground beef and use your hands to form mini meatballs.
- Place the on a baking sheet and bake for about 17-20 minutes until brown and cooked through.
- In a food processor, pulse together the chickpeas, ADF Habanasco Hot Sauce, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, tahini, and honey until smooth. If it’s too thick, you can add water, little by little, until you achieve the desired consistency (it should be able to spread).
- Scoop into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator.
- Mix together all the ingredients, cover, and place in the refrigerator until serving time.
- Mix together all the ingredients, cover, and place in the refrigerator until serving time.
- Create a pocket in each of the pitas. Spread with 1-2 tablespoons of Habanero hummus. Fill the pockets with the meatballs and fresh greens, and top with the tangy yogurt sauce. Enjoy!
NOTES:
- Feel free to use ground turkey, lamb, or chicken for this recipe.
- To prevent the meat from sticking to your hands when rolling out the meatballs, you can rub them with a bit of olive oil.
- For this recipe we used the milder ADF seasonings, but if you like it hot, feel free to use the Habanero Chilli or Ghost Pepper Salt.
- The longer the yogurt sauce sits, the better it tastes. This is because the garlic infuses into the yogurt base. You can make it a few hours ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator.
